Spotify’s recent beta feature takes the idea of the Discover Weekly playlist and puts control in users’ hands with AI suggestions. Playlists displayedwhich initially launches in Novel Zealand on Thursday, allows users to type in exactly what they want to listen to, with as much detail as they want. Spotify’s AI then creates a playlist based on these instructions and the user’s listening history.
Users can also set their suggested playlists to refresh regularly with recent songs based on the same suggestions, effectively allowing you to create weekly playlists using an algorithm you control. Earlier this year, Discover Weekly playlists received options to prioritize specific genres, but users can’t steer the playlist algorithm beyond this option.
Suggested playlists are part of a broader project to give users more control over Spotify — the streamer’s AI DJ received a similar update in May that allows users to issue voice prompts. It also mirrors similar moves on other platforms such as Instagram, which recently announced a feature that allows users to tell the algorithm what interests them.